Celebrities Invade Animation Production

Its an old gag, so stop me if youve heard this one: after Mother Teresa won the Nobel Prize, they asked her what she wanted to do next. Her answer, Well, what I really want to do is direct.

Scores of Hollywood stars and ambitious, talented actors have done just that cultivated second careers as directors, producer/directors and even producer/director/writers. And as of late, any number of them has decided to try their hand in animation as well.

Celebrity performers doing high-profile voice-over gigs has been a fact of life since Robin Williams helped make Aladdin a mega-success, and are now part of almost every animation property at the expense, many feel, of full-time voice actors. Their name recognition may get these celebrities in the door and even to the front of the line when it comes to pitching and selling - an animated project, but do they have what it takes to create a successful movie or TV show? Does their success reduce opportunities for experienced animation producers whose faces have never graced the cover of People magazine?

Anything that increases the supply and demand for animation is great, says Nathan Graf, md of Noodlesoup Prods. in New York. Celebrity involvement increases demand people want to see it. Animation suffers because theres no Tom Cruise theres no recognition among the public of creative animation people.

Noodlesoup produced the pilot for Hopeless Pictures, the animated series currently airing on the Independent Film Channel. Hopeless is written, produced and directed by Bob Balaban, a veteran actor whose career stretches back more than 35 years. It was a great experience working with Bob on the project, Graf continues. He hadnt had any forays into long form animation, but he knew his limits. We set up an in-house team for him that included an animation director. Bob directed it, but when it came to lighting, storyboarding, those are things an animation professional needs to do; the celebrity needs to know where to stop.

When Hopeless went to series, production moved to Trigger Street Independent, a film and TV company overseen by Kevin Spacey, producer Dana Brunetti and brothers Adam and Mark Kassen. Weve known Bob for a while, explains Kassen. Were currently producing a movie hes directing with Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon. Bob had done these shorts for IFC and was asked to expand them into a series. He wasnt sure if it was feasible, if it was affordable. We had to find a creative way of doing it.

Trigger Streets creative solution involved modeling the shows characters in 3ds Max but animating the show itself in 2D. According to Kassen, Its a much more sophisticated way of doing animation to achieve that rudimentary South Park look.

It was a bit of learning curve for Bob to do animation, but not much. Its basically using the fundamental ideas of storytelling. He was able to write a lot more material and then add in the visual elements later. Kassen confirmed Grafs description of the collaborative process involved. Bob worked with the storyboard artist to get camera angles and so on. They discussed his ideas and the artist sketched them out.

Bobs involvement with Hopeless Pictures more than didnt hurt it made things happen that are harder to do otherwise. Kassen may be referring to the high profile voice cast Balaban was able to attract to the project, led by Michael McKean, Jennifer Coolidge and Jonathan Katz, with folks like Rob Reiner, Paul Rubens and Lisa Kudrow providing cameos. Theres a lot of stuff out there. Anything recognizable or with other actors putting their name and stamp on it is for the best. If those people have a fan base, those fans want to check it out but the product has to be good.

When Tom Hanks knocked on John A. Davis door with an idea for an animated feature, Davis listened. His Texas-based DNA Prods. already had an Oscar nomination under its belt for the Jimmy Neutron film, and there was this kids book Hanks had read to his son

The Ant Bully was something that Tom and his son enjoyed very much, Davis recalls. Tom called us cold. He was looking for a writer/director to help turn the book into a feature, and he was a fan of Neutron.

He sent me a copy of the book and it became one of a number of projects floating around after Jimmy Neutron. We were looking at other projects that had people attached. I was interested in directing The Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers. I thought it would be cool to do live-action then I looked at the script.

At first I thought The Ant Bully would just be another CGI ant movie [following in the tiny footprints of A Bugs Life and Antz], but I met with Tom and we immediately hit it off. I discovered we had similar interests we both like Ray Harryhausen, Star Trek, etc. Then I thought this could be my version of a Harryhausen film with giant ants.

Davis acknowledges that having Hanks on board as a producer made financing the film far easier. We had a first-look relationship with Universal. We were developing the film there, but it was bogging down due to non-creative reasons. Tom got impatient and said lets take it to Warner Bros. Warners was very enthusiastic there was a great deal of interest in having Toms name attached to it, even though hes not a voice talent on the project.

We were in the process of taking on production chores for the Father of the Pride TV series when Warners gave us the greenlight to go into production. We had to make a choice and we bowed out of Pride no regrets. Regardless of Jeffrey [Katzenberg]s insistence wed be a creative partner, it was obvious they just wanted a service bureau. With The Ant Bully in production and set to open next August, Davis and Hanks are considering working together on a second project, a live-action/animation combination.

Veteran animator Tom Sito credits the boom in celebrity driven toon projects to the increased number of smaller, independent studios. In the mid 90s animation production seemed to be centered in a couple of large units Fox, Disney, DreamWorks and Warner Bros. Its a much wider field now with entrepreneurial studios launching their own projects Blue Sky in Nw York did Ice Age for Fox, Veggie Tales came out of Chicago and Jimmy Neutron was done in Texas. The big studios stick with the safe bets. Theres more entrepreneurial spirit in the smaller places they do the risky stuff.

Its a lot more decentralized now, but people with serious investment money who back these studios are looking for a safety factor. Theyre kind of frightened by the business. Thats where celebrities come in theyre a bankable commodity. To the money people, stars are a safe bet.

Sito points to Curious George as a project that was kicking around for years, resisting attempts by Brad Bird, The Simpsons David Silverman and others to turn it into a feature. Its in production now partly because Ron Howard came along and said I want this to happen. When [Sitos own] Osmosis Jones was vying for Warner Bros. attention, it wasnt until Will Smith came on board suddenly we had validity.

Celebrities who are in the 20/20 Club getting $20 million up front and 20% of the gross are flush. Some of them want to play Walt Disney and put their name or own idea in play. The Wayans brothers have an idea for an animated feature, Julie Andrews has one, Paul McCartney wants to do a Rupert movie [based on a classic British comic strip]. Celebrities are trying their own experiments in entrepreneurial production. Live action is used to it, but its a novel phenomenon lately for animation.

Lest anyone get the idea being a celebrity animation producer is a dilettantes pursuit, Adult Swims Keith Crofford at Cartoon Network offers the example of Seth Green and his stop-motion Robot Chicken series, Seth is one of the sharpest, funniest guys around. It was a no-brainer to go with him. It started with a Conan [OBrien] appearance that Seth decided he wanted to do as a stop-motion thing. He and his partner Matt Senreich pulled it off, which led to a deal with Sony to produce segments for the Internet. This was back in 2000 or 2001, then the Internet bubble burst and it never went anywhere. The project was without a home, making the rounds until we picked it up.

Seth is a great producer hes one of the hardest working guys I know. At the height of production he was commuting from a shoot in Budapest and London. He was able to arrange his schedule to fly to L.A. for one or two days at a time, sometimes for a record session or talk to the animators he never missed a beat.

When asked if a project that came through door with a celebritys name attached might edge out one submitted by a promising young animator, Crofford responds, Wed go with the material, always what would be stronger and suit our audience and their needs, but then qualifies his answer. If a young guy shows some genius we might take a chance on him with a pilot or script. Theres a lot of steps along the way to see if he can pull it off, find out how much hand holding he needs.

We enjoy working with talented people, whether theyre celebrities or college grads but we usually go with people who have a track record. All things being equal we might go with a celebrity who has better contacts and is hooked up and done stuff with other people.

OutKasts André 3000 definitely falls into the hooked up category, and a project with the rapper is currently in development at Cartoon Network. The as-yet unnamed show originated at Adult Swim and grew out of a relationship between the networks Michael Lazzo and independent producer Tom Lynch, dating back to their early days together at TBS. Weve always been big admirers of Outkast and Tommy knew Andres manager, says Crofford. I dont remember whether we had the idea or if Tommy Lynch contacted us. Hed already done a lot of stuff, he produces Lil Romeo he has a lot of contacts.

Nickelodeon is just beginning to mine Hollywood gold in search of the channels next SpongeBob. We dont have anything on the air yet with celebrities, but there are several things in development, says Eric Coleman, Nicks vp of animation development and production. We just finished a pilot with John Leguizamo called Big Shorty that were going to be testing with kids. Theres also a project coming from [music producer and Eurythmics star] Dave Stewart. His pitch was based on his stepfather, a very unusual character who lives in a junkyard with his pet dog and has no need for money or material possessions.

We also have a project in the works with Penn and Teller. We were concerned a bit about their reputation they have an adult sensibility in much of what they do. But they came to us with a concept and we were impressed with their creative angle. Penn spoke about their strong relationship with their parents, who, in the show, are very unusual characters who have a great relationship with their kids. The show is so sincere, and yet Penn and Teller really are sarcastic and cynical in their sense of humor and mischief, so it was attractive to build characters around younger versions of themselves. Theyre not mini Penn and Teller the angle is how they became their adult selves, and, for Nick, that is a strong kid angle.

According to Coleman, the lack of producing credentials among these talents is little more than a minor inconvenience. Most of Nicks successes in animation come from creators with a strong point of view, who have unique characters to share with us, whether theyre celebrities or not. We try to see the strengths in each project. If we believe in the kernel, well do what it takes. We usually pair celebrity producers with writers and directors we already know and have worked with. We have a lot of preliminary meet and greets to guarantee the best fit between them. Its been very easy so far everyones been wonderful to work with.

The celebrities without exception are interested in making shows for Nick because theyre making these shows for our audience. Its not to further their careers because they have big careers already. I think that once they have their own kids, theyre interested in programming their kids will like. Theyre also interested in the creative opportunities of animation its a medium in which they can express themselves in a completely different way. Theres so much more freedom in it. Its a new playground for them.

Finally, attaching a major name to project can launch a franchise. Afro Samurai was a not particularly high-profile manga character when Eric Calderon, vp of creative affairs at GDH International discovered it in Japan four years ago. Calderon snapped up rights to the character for GDHs Gonzo Animation studio. We produced a three-minute pilot and started circulating it to colleagues, agents and clients in L.A., he recalls. Samuel L. Jackson got hold of a copy and said I want to be Afro Samurai. We never went out to him, he just kind of found it.

We already had good amount of momentum behind us. Wed done zero marketing, but word was getting around virally like the South Park video Christmas card, people were approaching us. The show wouldve gone on without him, but having Sam attached added whole new level of classiness and put it into top gear.

A commitment for a five half-hour miniseries from Spike (set to air in fourth quarter 2006) as well as videogame and high-profile manga adaptations soon followed. Jackson is now a co-producer on the whole franchise, according to Calderon. Hes creatively active in every major milestone of the project story, casting, choice of directors. Sam is surprisingly well-informed on anime and samurai movies. Hes well versed on everything from the 50s to the present, Lone Wolf and Cub, The Seven Samurai, Zatoichi. He was looking for something like this. Afro Samurai is definitely a passion project for him.

If things go as planned, Jacksons passion will be rewarded with the starring role in a live-action (or perhaps even a series of live-action) Afro Samurai movie(s). An adaptation is currently being scripted, with genre producer Charles Roven (Batman Begins, The Brothers Grimm) on board overseeing the project. And as might be expected, Calderon is keeping his eyes open for another celebrity-driven property. We are bubbling around but theres nothing I can announce. Are we talking to people? Absolutely.

While having a celebrity on board may give a project a leg up in terms of publicity or studio interest, its no guarantee of success. Stripperella, Gary the Rat had merit, according to Noodlesoups Graf. The fact that they didnt go for 20 seasons, you cant blame that on those shows being celebrity-driven. Its not a zero-sum game, either. You cant say that because they gave Pam Anderson a yes it meant that a super-talented SVA graduates project wasnt greenlit. Whatever pushes the ball forward is good for everyone.

Joe Strike is a NYC-based writer/producer with a background in TV promotion and a lifelong interest in animation. He is writing a childrens novel.